Hawk's Claws
by See No Dum-Dums
Summary: Princess Azula's little reflection, as set right after the fall of Ba Sing Se: Really now, why care about what what people say about me? Why justify? I know what I am doing. That's what separates the hawk from the crow.


_MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! My first Avatar fic! And guess, of all people, who did I chose to write about?_

DUN DUN DUN!

_Disclaimer: Had I owned Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Fire Nation would have dominated everything starting from Sozin's days. Really. (Or not... Dunno.)_

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**The Hawk's Claws**  
(set right after the fall of Ba Sing Se) 

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Sure. Call me a monster. See if I care.

...although if you'd call me beautiful and perfect and smart instead, perhaps I wouldn't care as well.

Like I'd care about what _you_ think. Everyone's given me enough remarks, thanks very much, so I would probably forget what you have to say.

Father believes that I am born lucky. My senile uncle said that I am crazy. My mother thought that I am a monster. My brother? Well... it would be rather interesting to know what Zuzu has to think of me, but I shall leave the discovering for another day.

And I say I am all that, and more.

Oh yes, I _am _crazy. I _am_ a monster. I will not deny these allegations. In fact, I will not even try to justify myself, saying that "Oh, I am not a monster! I am just misunderstood! I have good intentions underlying my every seemingly amoral action! I am a good person deep, deep inside!"

Hah.

I do not _need_ to justify myself - especially not to _you_.

Everything I have done so far has been done deliberately - with my full consent, full knowledge, and full determination. When I commented that Father had become heir apparent after my cousin's death, I _did_ mean it. Why would I care about Uncle's son? Had he done anything that would benefit my father? Or me? In fact, he was competition, and I was more than glad to have him out of the way. When I called Uncle a quitter and a loser, I meant nothing more than that. He could have taken Ba Sing Se had he continued the siege; but no, he had to 'break down' merely because his precious Lu Ten died. ...though I would have preferred it for dear old Uncle himself to die back then; it would have made Father the Fire Lord a lot sooner, and without the crazy old man interfering, all would have been won by now - at the least, the Avatar would surely have been dead, had Uncle not hindered us in Ba Sing Se. (I knew I should have shot a stronger flame at the old man back then, when the traitor, my brother, and the Avatar and his friends decided to come together as friends to fight me.) At least he is now imprisoned, with nothing but his undying shame to accompany him as he rots away.

And, oh yes, I did smirk indulgently as Zuzu was disciplined by our father, three or so years ago. He needed to learn an important lesson, after all.

_Consider the hawk. She knows that she is strong: she is aware of her ability to soar high, to spot small animals from a distance, and to swoop upon her prey in one swift, deadly sweep._

I admit that Uncle Iroh was strong - he was, after all, the Dragon of the West, capable of commanding armies, shooting Lightning, and breathng Fire from his mouth. To some extent, I also have to concede that my older brother, Zuko, is strong as well. His technique is lacking if compared to mine, but the intensity of his attacks - his shots are formidable, to say the least, and his skill with the Dao is impressive.

_But the hawk does not hesitate. She strikes all that she can, from the fiercest snake to the feeblest hare, whenever she can. She hunts by day and by night, in secret or in open. She is not afraid to fight - but nor is she concerned with matters such as 'honor'; she gladly weeds out the weak just as she delights in crushing the strong._

That was exactly Uncle's undoing (and it would have been Zuzu's, too, had he not come to his senses in Ba Sing Se): this so-called sense of honor. Old Iroh believed that he had to face his foes in an open, level field. He believed that he had to fight for a certain higher sense, a certain code of morality that should encompass us all. Almost - almost! - he had let Zuko astray; he had almost led him to fight alongside the Avatar.

Hmph. Poor little Zuzu believed in this so-called sense of honor as well. Why, he once went against Father's will, crying out against one of Father's most seasoned generals, denouncing the sacrifice of unnamed novices! Why? Because _it just wasn't right!_ Hah! What my older brother failed to realize is that war is precisely like an innocent-looking game of Xiangqi: one has to be shrewd, be brutal, be merciless, marching his pieces, his troops to their deaths to achieve a Higher Order, an Absolute Goal - Power!

Little wonder that Father was disappointed with him.

So _I_ stood in Zuko's place.

I became, in a fashion, the 'son' Father never had.

After all, I am strong. I am clever. I am determined.

And, most importantly, I do not allow anything to stand in my way.

Who endeavored to bring the fugitives, Zuko and our traitorous Uncle, back? _I _did. Who enabled the Fire Nation to capture Ba Sing Se?_ **I **_did. I did not shrink from decimating the foolish Kyoshi warriors, nor from deceiving the imbecilic Earth King, nor from betraying the pathetic 'leader' - up to this day I am still wondering how he stomached calling himself that; he was obviously not born to be one - of the Dai Li. Who successfully brought the Avatar down, right behind the crumbled walls of the fallen Earth Kingdom? **_I_** did.

_And yet... the hawk is shrewd. She does not allow herself to get carried away by the wind. She can detect danger from afar, and she knows how to elude it._

Zuko gave me the slip the other day - the Avatar may yet be alive, judging from poor Zuzu's reaction, his tension, his confusion. Assuming that he is correct, Father would be most... _displeased_. I it was who shot the supposed lethal blow at the meddling fool's back, and all the glory I could have won for killing the Avatar would be turned into shame. I would have been a failure, just as Zuko was, and my imprisoned Uncle is. So I passed the cup to my brother, who has ever been so desperate to feel Father's acceptance, Father's approval.

He wanted to feel loved - oh yes, he so desired to feel such a useless emotion being poured down upon him. He wanted this so-called honor back. He wanted this opportunity.

_So let the crow take the spoil. Let the poor scavenger seize what he hungers for. Let the hawk go unnoticed, hidden in the shadows of the night._

_Know, however, that should the Eagle come searching for prey, he would come upon the poor crow. And he shall smite the crow so utterly that not even his bones would be left untouched._

_Oh no, not the hawk._

_She knows what she is doing._

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Go ahead. Call me a monster. Like I'd care about what _you_ think.

At the least I know what I am doing.

At the most...

Well...

I _will_ succeed in what I am doing.

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_Thanks for the reviews! They make me happy!_

_Flames, on the other hand, will make Azula happy._

_...not that I mind, though. I'll just try to be happy as well - or get toasted - _xp


End file.
